Process and apparatus for making novelty yarn



July 3, 1962 P. F. MARSHALL PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NOVELTYYARN 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 10, 1959 ly 3 P. F. MARSHALLPROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NOVELTY YARN '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 OriginalFiled Dec. 10, 1959 July 3 1952 P. F. MARSHALL 3,041,812

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NOVELTY YARN 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 OriginalFiled Dec. 10, 1959 July 3, 1962 P. F. MARSHALL 3,041,812

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NOVELTY YARN 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 OriginalFiled Dec. 10, 1959 y 3, 1962 P. F. MARSHALL 3,041,812

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NOVELTY YARN Original Filed Dec. 10,1959 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 luly 3 P. F. MARSHALL IROCESS AND APPARATUS FORMAKING NOVELTY YARN Original Filed Dec. 10, 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 July3, 1962 P. F. MARSHALL 3,041,812

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NOVELTY YARN Original Filed Dec. 10,1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 United States Patent Ofliice 3,041,812 PatentedJuly 3, 1962 11 Claims. c1. 57-6) This invention relates to theproduction of a novelty yarn, particularly, it relates to a noveltycore-constructed yarn prepared from a filamentary material wrapped in aseries of looped configurations about the axis of sa d yarn and to aprocess and apparatus for producing said yarn without resorting tomechanical twisting devices. It is a division of my application SerialNo. 858,694, filed December 10, 1959.

Novelty yarns, useful in the production of textured or visual effectfabrics or used in strand form alone for decorative ties, etc, aretypified by products such as boucle yarns, slub yarns, loop yarns, andthe like. In general they are prepared by feeding at different rates twoyarns into a twisting device which wraps one yarn, which is overfed,around another yarn which is held under tension, or by overfeeding oneyarn to form loops which are held between a pair of tensioned binderyarns twisted together. Core yarns are similarly prepared by wrapping acovering strand more or less completely around a core by means of arotating hollow spindle.

All such yarns are prepared in a rotating or spinning device that wrapsone type of filamentary material around another with a true wrap ortwist. The process suffers from known limitations and deficienciesinherent in rotating mechanical devices, wherein problems of frictionand lubrication become critical at high speeds, and constant maintenanceand supervision are necessary. The yarns so prepared have taken manyforms but in general have either had too low a bulk factor for manyuses, have been too expensive to manufacture, were not attractive, orwere subject to a combination of these and other factors.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the invention to produce a noveland attractive yarn of the core-constructed type having unusually highbulk factor and low density if such be desired, yet economical tomanufacture and of striking and attractive appearance. Following theprinciples of the invention, such yarns may be constructed from textilestrand material, either of single or multiple strands of filaments, spunor unspun.

In general, the yarns of the invention are high-volume, low-densityproducts, and preferably (though not necessarily) include a continuouscore strand with one or more covering or wrapping strands wound,doubled, or looped thereabout. The wrapping yarn is generally depositedin a multi-layered, haphazard manner, which is commonly more closelypacked adjacent to the yarn axis or core than it is around the peripheryof the assembly. However, the presence of an actual core strand may bedispensed with in some instances. The covering or wrapping strand aboutthe central axis of the yarn of the invention has a multiplicity ofclosely adjacent portions haphazardly doubled and twisted, and wound toa large extent as closed loops in doubled configuration, generally inthe form of a closely spaced multi-layered and partially overlappinghelix for a plurality of turns. A multiplicity of the loops of thewrapping yarn are twisted to form stems or pedicles and are frequentlyintertwisted with adjacent loop formations. Additionally, loop forms areoften interlaced with other loops by passing therethrough. These loopsextend generally perpendicular to and radially of the cental axis of theyarn and project outwardly therebeyond.

The novelty yarn of this invention, therefore, includes a wrapping ofserially connected loops, said loops being disposed at various angles toeach other but essentially with the loops lying in planes generallyperpendicular to the main axis of the core yarn. Although the wrappedcovering has been false wrapped around the core, so that it isessentially free from residual wrap, nevertheless the individual strandportions thereof are so entangled, snarled, and frictionally engagedwith adjacent and contacting loop portions as to resist unwrappingthereof and provide a normally stable structure particularly where acentral core strand is present. Although the preferred yarn according tothe invention is generally uniformly wrapped throughout its length, itmay also be intermittently wrapped with generally longitudinallyextending strand portions alternating with wrapped portions.

It is another object of the invention to provide novel apparatus andmethods for manufacturing the novel coreconstructed yarn of theinvention simply and at high speed by utilizing fluid, preferablygaseous, operating forces thereon. In this novel method,core-constructed yarns meeting the above objectives are generallyproduced preferably by simultaneously separately feeding a core strandand a wrapping strand into a fluid vortex in which a rapidly rotatingair mass is localized. The core strand is preferably kept under tensionbut its rate of speed through the vortex may be varied periodically orirregularly. The wrapping strand is preferably fed in under little or norestraint, and usually its rate of feed is largely determined by therate at which the air mass rotates in the vortex. If an especiallyuniform degree of wrapping is desired, the rate of feed of the wrappingyarn may be regulated to any predetermined rate.

More specifically, this may be accomplished by providing a generallycylindrical vortex chamber with a tangential fluid inlet thereto forpressurizing the chamber and creating a whirling body of fluid therein,the covering or wrapping strand preferably being introduced into saidchamber through a tangential inlet thereto and passing from said chamberas the novel wrapped yarn of the invention through an axial outlettherefrom. The wrapping strand is drawn into the vortex chamber alongthe wall of the chamber. The core strand is preferably introducedthrough an axial inlet in the end of the chamber opposite to the outletend. The covering or wrapping strand is continuously overfed into thechamber at a lineal rate greatly in excess of its bulked linealwithdrawal rate so that a portion thereof is continuously maintained inslack condition within the vortex chamber, wherein the whirling mass offluid acts upon it to form randomly and haphazardly double-back loopsand twisted pedicles. Simultaneously, the whirling fluid mass winds theloops into the form of a closely spaced and multi-layered and partiallyoverlapping helix for a plurality of turns, and entangles, snarls, andinterlaces the loops with one another. A central core strand oran-equivalent thereof aids in this process.

The tendency of the wrapping yarn is to form a nonuniform series ofvariously sized loops, which spiral around the core strand generallyradially to the yarn axis. As the core strand is advanced through thevortex, these loops form a series of collapsed bights, serially engagedwith the core strand in the form of a constantly descending helix. Sincethere is no continuous unidirectional wrapping of the end of thewrapping strand around the core strand, the net unidirectional wrappingin the final product is mathematically zero. The looped and woundassembly is continuously removed from the vortex chamber opening, aidedby the flow of fluid therethrough, preftime more restricted againstmovement in a lateral direc- I tion than the rotating wrapping strand inthe vortex chamber, the amount of such restriction varying somewhat inaccordance with a variety of factors such as strand size and weight,chamber size, degree of air pressurization, air flow speed, etc.

Various other objects and features of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description of preferred embodiments of theinvention, taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is -a diagrammatic perspective view, partially broken away, of ayarn of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross section of the yarn of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the yarn of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic showing of certain aspects of the yarn of FIGS.1-3,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the preferred apparatus of theinvention, a

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, partially in section, of apparatus accordingto the invention,

FIG. 7 is a sectional plan of the apparatus of FIG. 4,

FIGS. 8-10 are diagrammatic views illustrating the formation of the yarnof FIGS. 1-3,

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a modification of the yarnof FIGS. l-3,

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic perspective view of another modification ofthe yarn of FIGS. 1-3, and

FIGS. 13-22 are photographs of yarns of the invention manufacturedaccording to Examples 1-10 herein respectively.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 3, the core-constructed yarn of theinvention there shown includes a generally straight central core strand12 having a wrapping strand 11 thereabout.

The strands themselves may be strands of a wide variety of textilefibers, or other strands, either staple or continuous, as is hereinaftermore fully explained. For example, cotton, or wool yarns may be used insizes from 10s to 200s cotton system, as may the synthetic fibers suchas rayon, nylon, etc., either spun or continuous filament. Continuousstrands of rayon, comprising a low twist bundle of filaments of size 1.5to denier per filament are especially useful in the invention because ofthe high bulking characteristic of such strands. Mixed fiber yarns maybe used as well, and the physical and chemical characteristics of thecentral core strand 12 and the wrapping strand 11 may be quitedifferent. It will be appreciated also that the invention is notconfined to a cored yarn in the ordinary textile sense, but that thecore may be of wire or other filamentary material, such as twistedpaper, plastic monofilament, metallic ribbon, and the like. In thismanner, a bulky novelty yarn may be produced which has exceptionallyhigh tensile strength due to the nature of the core filament employed.

It is also within the scope of the invention to use two or more strandsas a core. Exceptionally bulky products are obtained when the coreconsists of one or more strands of inexpensive material such as cottonroving, combined with a strand of glass or nylon serving to give hightensile strength.

As may be best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the wrapping strand 11 is wounddouble and deposited about the core strand 12 in a many-layered andhaphazard manner. It is characterized by a multiplicity of closelyadjacent portions haphazardly doubled back and wrapped in doubledconfiguration either with themselves, or with other such portions,generally in the form of a closely spaced, multilayered and partiallyoverlapping helix. As may be seen at 14 in FIG. 4, a multiplicity of thedoubled-back ends form loops 16 with twisted pedicles 17 which arefrequently intertwisted with adjacent pedicledloops as at 16 and 16".The loops 16, 16', and 16" etc., extend generally perpendicular to andradially of the central core strand 12 from the central axis of theyarn, and outwardly therebeyond. In the so-wound and twisted wrappingstrand 11, the individually looped strand portions are entangled,snarled, and interlocked with adjacent looped portions as shown at 18and 19 in FIG. 4, so as to resist unwinding.

Apparatus suitable for manufacturing the yarn of FIG 1-4 is shown inFIGS. 5-7. Such apparatus may comprise a chamber 20 having a cylindricalwall 22 with a pair of tangential openings 24, 26 thereinto and endwalls 32, 36, having openings 34, 38. As a means for creating alongitudinally-extended whirling body of fluid in said chamber,tangential opening 26 is connected to a source of fluid pressure such asair pump 28, while the wrapping strand 11 may be fed into the chamber 20through tangential opening 24 by means of rolls 25. The

core strand 12 is fed into chamber 20 from tension device 42 throughopening 32 in the upper end wall thereof, while the core-constructedwrapped yarn 10 is removed from the axially-extended opening 38 in theopposite end wall by means of a pair of rolls 44.

In operation, to carry out the method of the invention, the core strand12 is suppled from any suitable package, not shown, and is passedthrough guides or feed rolls 42 which, together with the take-upmechanism, insure that the core strand passes through the vortex chamberat a controlled velocity and under constant tension, so that it isessentially undistorted by the circulating air mass in the chamber. Thecore strand 12, of whatever composition desired, is fed through theinlet 34, passes through the vortex chamber, and is threaded through theoutlet 38 to a pair of nip rolls 44.

When the core strand is suitably tensioned between rolls 42 and 44,compressed air is fed from pump 28 into the chamber through thetangentially-directed inlet 26 while the wrapping strand 11 is fed tothe oppositelydisposed wrapping strand inlet 24. The metering rolls 25,feeding the wrapping strand 11, are frequently omitted in the process,but may be used if a closely controlled but varying rate of input isdesired, as for the production of sculptured yarns.

Air is fed into inlet 26 at from about 10 to 10Q or more poundspressure. The preferred tangential direction of the air stream, coupledwith the generally cylindrical shape of the chamber, creates a miniaturetornado in the vortex chamber, with a rapidly revolving stream of aircircling around the walls. The end of wrapping strand 11, drawn into thechamber through the inlet 24 by the rotating air mass, apparently eitherimpinges on the core strand or else slows down due to wall frictionwithin a fraction of a second after the process of feed ing the wrappingstrand is started. More wrapping strand is being drawn in, however, withthe net result that the continually advancing wrapping strand passes theleading end, and a loop or bight is formed.

Under hypothetical ideal conditions, as shown in FIG. 8, the advancingend 45 of a loop thus formed would wrap spirally in the form of doubledloops 47 and 49 around the core strand 12. One feature of the product ofthis invention, therefore, is the presence in the wrapping layer ofincrementally doubled looped windings, generally perpendicular to thecore strand axis.

Due probably to the presence of some turbulence and pulsing in the airllow, however, and to slight irregularities in the core strand andwrapping strand, the idealized type of wrapping shown in FIG. 8 isapparently not often realized. A loop of wrapping strand in the vortexchamber is subject to air forces which tend to twist it on itself, aswell as to rotate it around the chamber.

Such a twisting action means that numerous loops or loop segments willbe given a half turn or more of twist around their own bifilar axes, asshown in FIGS. 9 and 4. Such a secondary action interrupts the smoothadvancement of the strand, with the result that the infeeding end of thestrand 46 will be propelled beyond the twisted portion 48, to formanother loop of different configuration. In this way, the continuouspropagation of doubled loops is constantly being interrupted by inertialforces, by twisting of a part of the loop, or by engagement with apreviously twisted loop segment.

Still a fourth cause of entanglement is the fact that a loop may bethrust through another loop, as illustrated in FIGS. and 4. In FIG. 10,the strand ends 51 and 52 are the end portions of the compound loopwhich lies between them. This compound loop contains two places, 53 and54, where a half-twist bight has been formed, and another region where anewly formed loop 55 has passed through the eye of a previously formedloop 56.

Such compounded entanglement and frictional engagement of the wrappingstrand doublings gives considerable structural strength and coherence tothe product of this invention.

Nevertheless, inspection of FIG. 10 will show that if the ends 51 and 52are pulled to the left, the whole compound loop is freed from the coreyarn 12, and no wrapping is left. Thus, there is no true winding of thewrapping end around the core yarn as in prior art cored yarns. Hence,the type of wrapping effected herein is referred to as false wrapping,as mentioned above. The doubled and compounded loops are wrapped aroundthe core, with frequent reversals of direction, in a random andhaphazard manner, depending on the instantaneous state of strandaggregation just ahead of the wrapping loop as it whirls around in thevortex chamber.

The continuous downward movement of the core strand 12 has the effect ofcontinuously transporting these radially-disposed, compounded, andentangled loops out of the vortex chamber and to the Winding mechanismas an integrated wrap. The term radially-disposed" means that if a cutis made through the cored yarn of my invention, I may get three or fourvery short pieces of wrapping strand, a fraction of an inch in length,due to cutting through the tips of loops which are not perfectlyperpendicular to the core yarn axis. In general, however, cuttingthrough the cored yarn of this invention gives two pieces of wrappingstrand, indicating that the compound loops radiate out from the core andare not substantially laterally disposed to it.

The descending spiral of interacting incremental doublings has beendescribed above as it is collapsed onto a constantly progressing corestrand. By proper selection of yarn size and air pressure, however, thewrapping strand may be made to entangle upon itself and serve as its owncore to produce a self-cored core-constructed strand according to theinvention, as described more specifically in Examples 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10below.

In such cases, the explanation is probably as follows:

The spiraling doubled strands are constantly moving down through thevortex chamber, due to gravity and to the tendency of the air to beexhausted through the exit tube. At a point near the bottom of thechamber, the entangled wrapping strand becomes so bulky and so densethat a following loop wraps around this nucleus, much as if it were acore strand. If this wrapped nucleus is then withdrawn from the vortexchamber and wound up at an appropriate rate, it is found that thedoubling and wrapping will continue to propagate a bulky voluminousproduct without the need for. providing a core for the wrapping strandto wrap around. It is important, of course, that this voluminouscoreless yarn be removed from the vortex chamber as fast as it isformed, or else it will quickly plug the chamber and the process willstop.

Motion pictures taken at 8,000 frames per second indicate that inproducing a coreless novelty yarn of this type, the real yarn formationtakes place at or near the bottom of the vortex chamber 20, that is,near the lower tip of 0 over a substantial range.

due to any momentary irregularity in mass density, but once begun, theself-wrapping continues so long as the input and windup are adjusted soas to maintain a steady equilibrium state.

In this process, it is obviously not necessary to have separate inletsfor core and wrapping strands. A chamber such as shown in FIGS. 5-7 maybe used to advantage, but with the opening 34 omitted or with thewrapping strand fed through opening 34 and air introduced through bothside openings 24 and 26. As is true of this invention in general, morethan one strand at a time can be fed into the chamber. Two ends of yarnof different color may be combined, for example, to give a bulkydecorative structure useful as a Christmas tree trim, or decoratorsmaterial.

To some extent the size of the loop formation will depend on the densityof the material of which the yarn is composed. Even more important isthe modulus of rigidity of the yarn composition, nylon differing fromviscose, which in turn differs from acetate. In addition, the resistanceto bending, which governs the size and shape of the loops formed, can bevaried widely in any one type of yarn by varying the denier or weightper unit length of the filaments chosen. For example, in a 260 denier-17filament nylon yarn, the individual filaments are about 15 denier. Sucha yarn tends to form springy, resilient bows which radiate clearly fromthe center of the assembly and have quick recovery from deformation. Ina 70 denier-34 filament nylon yarn, however, a softer and more compliantproduct is obtained.

By proper choice of the above variables, a wide variety of structuresmay be produced in which various components are stratified in thesurface or at the center of the assembly, as desired.

Another useful modification of the invention, resembling a slubbed yarn,is shown in FIG. 11. Such a yarn is produced when the withdrawal of thecore strand is slightly in excess of the speed of wrapping that takesplace in the vortex chamber. This can be brought about either byspeeding up the windup, or by decreasing the air pressure so that lessrotational energy is imparted to the wrapping yarn. Specificillustrations are given in Examples 5 and 9, below.

As above set forth, if the rate of wrapping in the lower part of thechamber is balanced against the rate of withdrawal, a continuous evenwrapping is obtained, with no plugging of the exit tube and no backwardpropagation which would plug the chamber.

However, if the yarn is withdrawn at a rate too fast to allow uniformwrapping, the wrapping does not become thinner and uniformly attenuated,as might be expected, but instead, it is suddently converted to a seriesof slubs, separated by unwrapped areas, as shown in FIG, 11. The exactreason for this is not understood, but apparently the excess take-upspeed of the winder, coupled with the air stream issuing from the exittube, creates a pulsing action in the process which leads to theintermittent wrappings appearing like beads on a string. The periodicityis quite regular, and by manipulation may be varied Such slubbedproducts can be made either with or without a core strand, as desired.

Among the major advantages of this invention are the simplicity, speed,and economy with which a wide variety of useful and novel yarnlikearrays may be produced. A thick and quite inexpensive paper core yarnmay be smoothly wrapped with a thin layer of fine viscose rayon, tosimulate a textile yarn, at speed which cannot be matched byconventional wrapping or braiding techniques. A cotton core yarn wrappedwith coarse nylon combines strength with bulky resilience, for use as arug yarn. If a tensioned rubber core is wrapped with rayon or nylon, aninexpensive elastic yarn is produced. Wires may be quickly wrapped withany desired electrically insulating strands. Although the invention hasbeen described chiefly the descending, narrowing spiral. The initiationmay be in terms of textile yarns or wire, it is equally applicable toany filamentary material that can be fed continuously i to. the vortexchamber, such as slit Mylar film, plain or metalized, and similarmaterials.

I have also found that the product of this invention is useful as astarting material for the production of bulked yarns or texturedyarns,,such as are known to the textile trade as Taslan, Ban-Lon, orAgilon. Such yarns, made from continuous filaments, are characterized byhaving the individual filaments in the bundle crimped or looped orotherwise dispersed so that they tend to stand apart from each other inthe filamentary bundle, thus providing a feeling of bulk, softness, andwarmth that is lacking in regular untextured continuous filament yarn.

By the incremental doubling and looping process of this invention,continuous filament yarn may be compacted into a tight, false-wrappedyarn. This wrapping may be around a true core strand, or it may bearound its own bulk as described above, where a self-cored yarn isdescribed. I have found that if a yarn of this latter type issubsequently drawn out, so that the wrapping is attenuated toapproximately its original length, the redrawn yarn is markedlydifferent from the yarn originally fed to the vortex tube, as shown inFIG. 12. This represents a multifilament strand compacted on itselfaccording to the invention, and subsequently drawn out to about 95% ofits original length, by conventional drawing means.

Such a process is to be contrasted with certain conventional bulk-yarnprocesses which have the disadvantage of needing to combine a dispersingor crimping process with a heat-setting process. That is, unless thefilaments are heat-set, the bulkiness and loft that have been applied tothe yarn are of a temporary nature, and will not resist subsequentprocessing into fabrics. Hence, it is common practice to apply heat tothe yarn at or just prior to the point at which the individual filamentsare to be separated and dispersed.

In the product of my invention, however, the individual filaments in thewrapping yarn are not dispersed or blown apart in the vortex tube, butthe relatively intact filament is wrapped into a series of doubled loopsradiating out from the central axis, as described above. This creates astable product which may be wound up in a conventional package andstored indefinitely. Any subsequent desired treatment, such as dryheating, steaming, impregnating, or treatment with resin solutions, maybe carried out on the individual packages at any time and in anyequipment, that is suitable. Since the compacted yarn has no truewrapping, as explained above, it can be drawn out by conventionalmethods. I have found that due apparently to the tight doubling that theyarn has undergone, the individual filaments in the yarn tend to springapart in a series of irregular waves, as shown in FIG. 12. Such adrafted product has many of the properties of textured yarns, but ismuch more economical to produce.

The product of the invention will now be illustrated by the followingexamples, which are shown in FIGURES 13 to 22, respectively.

Example 1, FIG. 13

A vortex chamber similar to that shown in FIGS. to 7 was used to wrap a70 denier-34 filament nylon strand around a 260 denier-17 filament core.The brass chamber was 34 inch in diameter, 8 5 inch high, with a corestrand inlet of A inch diameter and an outlet of inch diameter. The airinlet and wrapping strand inlet were each 0.040 inch in diameter.

Using an air pressure of 60 lbs. per square inch and a windup speed of20 yards per minute, the product of FIG. 13 was obtained. The finaldenier of this nylon wrap on nylon core was 4,200. Subtracting theuncontracted core yam denier of 260 shows that the wrapping yarn is now3,940 denier. This indicates that approximately 56 yards of the 70denier wrapping strand are wrapped around each yard of product.

Example 2, FIG. 14

The same chamber was used as in Example 1. The wrapping strand was again70 denier-34 filament nylon, and the air pressure 60 lbs. Three parallelcore strands were used, one of 260 denier-17 filament Estron and twostrands of 900 denier-230 filament nylon, to provide a high-tensilestrand. The takeup speed was feet or 26.7 yards per minute.

The total denier of the product, shown in FIG. 14-, was 5,550.Subtracting the 2060 core denier indicates that the wrapping was 3,490denier, showing that about 50 yards of wrapping strand were wrappedaround each yard of product.

Example 3, FIG. 15

The same chamber, wrapping strand, and air pressure were used as inExamples 1 and 2. The core was of two Example 4, FIG. I 6

Using the same chamber, wrapping strand, air pressure, and take-up speedas in Example 3, the 70 denier nylon was wrapped around a compound coremade of one strand of soft steel wire, 9,600 denier, and one strand of4,400 denier-3,000 filament viscose tow.

The product of Example 4 weighed 22,800 denier, of

which 8,800 denier was wrapping. This indicates that about 126 yards of70 denier nylon is wrapped around each yard of product.

Example 5, FIG. 17

Using the same chamber as in previous examples, a 70 denier-34 filamentnylon strand was fed into the side opening 24, with no yarn being fed inas a core strand. At an air pressure of 40 pounds per square inch and atake-up speed of 134 feet or 44.7 yards per minute, the product of FIG.17 was obtained.

The product consists of a series of slubs, about fi inch in diameter,spaced about 1 inch apart on the 70 denier nylon strand. The denier ofthe product is 1,000, indicating that about 14 yards of 70 denier nylonhas been intermittently wrapped upon itself to form 1 yard of product.This product can be made equally well with chamber opening 34' open orclosed.

Example 6, FIG. 18

This was an exact duplicate of Example 5 except that the take-up speedwas decreased to 32 feet or 10.7 yards per minute. As seen in FIG. 18,the slubs are thereby run so closely together that the product has theappearance of a more or less continuous yarn. The denier of the productwas 2,850, indicating that over 40 yards of 70 denier nylon has beenused to form one yard of product.

Example 7, FIG. 19

Using the same chamber as in the above examples, a 260 denier-l7filament nylon strand was wrapped around another 260 denier-17 filamentnylon strand as a core. Air pressure was 60 pounds, take-up speed 17.7yards per minute.

The increased resilience of a large-denier nylon wrap is seen bycomparing Example 7, FIG. 19, with Example 1, FIG. 13. The wrappingcomponent was 7,840 denier, indicating that about 30 yards of wrappingstrand are wrapped around each yard of core strand of the samecomposition.

9 Example 8, FIG. 20

The denier of the product was 5100, indicating that 130 yards of 70denier of nylon had been wrapped on itself to form one yard of product.

Example 9, FIG. 21

Using the same chamber and the same 70 denier nylon strand as in Example8, the air pressure was increased to 40 pounds and the take-up speed to80 feet per minute. 1

Under these conditions, the product of FIG. 21 was obtained. Each slubis about A inch long, and they are spaced about 2 inches apart. Thefinal product is 600 denier, indicating that about 9 yards of 70 denieryarn 2 are consumed for each yard of product.

Example 10, FIG. 22

A chamber similar to FIG. 5-7 was used, with an inside diameter of V2inch, a height of M1 inch, core strand inlet of 1 inch, an an outlet ofinch diameter. Air at pounds pressure was blown in through both sideopenings 24 and 26, which were 0.094 inch in diameter.

Two strands of Fiberglas yarn, type G1501/9-1Z were fed in through theopening 34. The take-up rate was 45 feet or 15 yards per minute.

The product shown in FIG. 22, weighed 4 grams per yard. The two initialstrands weighed 7,315 yards per pound, or 0.062 gram per yard. Thecontraction factor was therefore 64.5 yards of input material for eachyard of product.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that there may be a varietyof modifications, not disclosed herein, of the products, processes, andapparatus of the invention within the spirit thereof and the scope ofthe appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A method of making a core-constructed yarn comprising continuouslyoverfeeding a continuous strand int9,-a generally cylindrical body offluid whirling about a central axis, continuously maintaining an overfedportion of said strand within said body in slack condition, randomlyforming doubled-backed loops in said strand, and winding said loops indoubled configuration in the form of a close spaced and partiallyoverlapping helix for a plurality of turns and entangling and snarlingsaid loops with one another by the whirling motion of said fluid body.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said feeding is at a variablerate.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said feeding is at a uniformrate.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 further including the step ofattenuating said looped and wound strand to provide a bulked yarn.

5. A method of making a core-constructed yarn comprising continuouslyoverfeeding a continuous strand into a generally cylindrical body offluid whirling about a central axis, continuously'maintaining an overfedportion of said strand within said body in slack condition, randomlyforming doubled-backed loops in said strand, winding said loops indoubled configuration in the form of a close-spaced and partiallyoverlapping helix for a plurality of turns and entangling and snarlingsaid loops with one another by the whirling motion of said fluid. body,and continuously removing the looped and wound strand from said fluidbody at a ratenot greater than 20% of the rate of feed of said strandinto said whirling body.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein said removal is carried outwhile restricting said looped and wound strand in a transversedirection.

7. A method of making a core-constructed yarn comprising continuouslypassing a straight tensioned continuous core strand axially through agenerally cylindrical 5 body of fluid whirling about a central axis,continuously overfeeding a continuous wrapping strand into saidgenerally cylindrical body of fluid whirling about a central axisgenerally tangentially thereof, continuously maintaining an overfedportion of said wrapping strand within 0 said body in slack condition,randomly forming doubled- -backed loops in said wrapping strand, windingsaid loops in doubled configuration in the form of a close-spaced andpartially overlapping helix for a plurality of turns about said corestrand and entangling and snarling said loops with one another and withsaid core strand by the whirling motion of said fluid body, andcontinuously removing the looped and wound bulked core-constructed yarnfrom said fluid body.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein said yarn is removed at a rateequal to the rate of feed of said core strand into said fluid body andnot more than 20% of the rate of feed of said wrapping strand into saidwhirling fluid body.

9. Apparatus for manufacturing a core-constructed yarn comprising agenerally cylindrical chamber, means for creating a whirling body offluid in said chamber including a tangential opening in said chamber andmeans for applying a pressurized fluid to said opening, means forfeeding a wrapping strand into said chamber including an opening in aside wall of said chamber, means for feeding a core strand into saidchamber including an opening in an end wall of said chamber, and meansfor removing said core-constructed yarn from said chamber including anopening in the end wall of said chamber opposite from 5 the wall havingsaid core strand inlet opening.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the opening for feedingthe wrapping strand is tangential to the chamber.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the 0 tangential openingfor applying a pressurized fluid and the tangential opening for feedinga wrapping strand are substantially oppositely disposed on the walls ofthe generally cylindrical chamber.

References Cited in the'file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,852,906 Breen Sept. 23, 1958 2,869,967 Breen Jan. 20, 1959 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,177,428 France Dec. 1, 1958 1,178,980 France Dec. 15, 1958776,410 Great Britain June 5, 1957 799,185 Great Britain Aug. 6, 1958Attesting Officer UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIONPatent No. 3,041,812 July 3, 1962 Preston F. Marshall It is herebycertified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiringcorrection and that the said Letters Patent should read as correctedbelow.

Column 6, lines 36 and 53, for "FIG. 11, each occurrence, read FIG. 12column 7, lines 23 and 54, for "FIG. 12", each occurrence, read FIG. 11n-.

Signed and sea led this 31st day of December 1963.

(SEAL) Attest:

1 ERNEST W. S WIDER EDWIN L. REYNOLDS Ac t1 9 Commissioner of Patents

